Knowledge Graph Dropdowns & Crowd Sourcing the Future on Twitter

On Friday Sebastien Socha alerted me to the fact that Google was now including inline Knowledge Graph Dropdowns in general and local search results.

Besides the fact that it provides mostly irrelevant, distracting. repetitive and non specific Wikipedia type results to very specific queries, I saw it as an annoying addition to local search with little of value for the searcher or the business.

Here is an example of the search result. Note that the Ikea Knowledge Graph drop down link with exactly the same, limited content appears above the fold twice as does the Yelp Corporate information panel. Given that the card is static, after you have clicked it once, you know all you need to know – never click again.

I didn’t have time to write about it at the time, so when Cyrus Shepard tweeted it, I retweeted his image.That led to a lively discussion about the present and future of Google with @CyrusShepard, @MikeGracen, @JohnAndrews & @SEOAware (Melissa Fach).

I am reproducing it here because it says so much about us as SEOs, Google, our fears, the present and the possible futures we all face. And it says a lot about how Twitter can sometimes be very enjoyable.

Thanks guys for redefining what I thought was just paranoia as simply cynical realism. When Google acquired NEST, my first thought was, “Great, now they have a thermostat that learns your occupancy routine to combine with the new robotic telemarketer they’re showing off. I can’t wait until my answering machine picks up and I hear, “Hey Dave, I know your home… you can’t hide… I know you’re there… pick up the phone…”

My vote was for the “skynet” tweet–but that was when I mistakenly believed I was paranoid–not cynical.